The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) on Tuesday postponed the board exams for classes 10 and 12 scheduled to be held on Thursday (March 5) and Friday (March 6) in several West Asian countries in the wake of the war between Iran, the US and Israel.
“The new dates will be announced later,” the board in a circular dated March 3 informed the principals of over 150 CBSE-affiliated schools in Bahrain, Iran, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The exams were originally scheduled to take place on March 2 but were postponed two days ago. According to the latest circular, the board will once again “review the situation” on Thursday and “take appropriate decisions” regarding examinations scheduled from March 7 onwards. “All students are advised to stay in touch with their schools for updates and follow official announcements carefully,” the post read.
The decision affects thousands of Indian students studying in schools affiliated with the Central Board of Secondary Education across the Gulf region. The UAE and Saudi Arabia, in particular, host a large number of Indian expatriate families, and CBSE schools there account for a large proportion of foreign candidates who sit the board exams every year.
CBSE officials declined to comment on the number of students affected. “We are yet to estimate the number of students affected. Our current focus is to review the situation in the affected countries and issue periodic updates and bulletins containing all relevant information in a timely manner,” an official said.
CBSE conducts board examinations for Classes 10 and 12 annually in India and in selected foreign centers where its affiliated schools operate. The Gulf region forms the largest overseas concentration of CBSE schools, with Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Doha and Riyadh among the major examination centres.
The postponement marks a rare mid-session disruption to board exams abroad. In recent years, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has changed schedules mainly during exceptional circumstances – most notably in 2020 and 2021 during the Covid-19 pandemic, when many Class 10 and 12 examinations in India and abroad were postponed or cancelled. In isolated cases, the Council has also postponed examinations at specific centers due to extreme weather conditions, local emergencies or security concerns, while maintaining the broader national timetable.
The latest circular was signed by Controller of Examinations Dr Sanyam Bhardwaj and lists Indian Ambassadors to the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Iran, as well as the Consul General of India in Dubai, among those who have been copied for information and necessary action.
CBSE board exams for Classes 10 and 12 began on February 18. More than 4.37 million students, including 2.51 million Class 10 students and 1.86 million Class 12 students, are appearing for the CBSE board exams.
